Cigarette rod cutoff device

ABSTRACT

A cradle-shaped support for a continuous cigarette rod that is to be cut is driven continuously in one direction along a generally circular closed path that is tangential to the rod and at a peripheral speed equal substantially to the speed of the rod to periodically support and guide the rod each time the rod is cut with a blade.

United States Patent [45] Mar. 21, I972 Gianese CIGARETTE ROD CUTOFFDEVICE Inventor: Gofiredo Gianme, Bologna, Italy Assignee: AMFIncorporated Filed: Nov. 6, 1969 Appl. No.: 874,457

Foreign Application Priority Data Nov. 12, 1968 Italy ..7468 A/68 (1.8.CI ..83/3l0 Int. Cl ..B26d 1/56 Field of Search ..83/310; 131/65 R L It3,479,913 11/1969 Goeman et a1...

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Rodder ..83/3l0 X PrimaryExaminer-James M. Meister AnomeyGeorge W. Price and Eli Weiss ABSTRACTrod is cut with a blade.

3 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PAIENIEUMAR21 I972 3,650,169

SHEET 1 0F 3 INVENTOR. GOFFREDO GIANESE ATTORNEY PAIENTEDMRM m2 SHEET 2OF 3 I I INVENTOR. GOFFREDO GIANESE A zL/LV,

ATTORNEY P'AIENTEDMAR 2 1 I972 SHEET 3 OF 3 INVENTOR.

GOFFREDO GIANESE Liz/1;

ATTORNEY CIGARETTE ROD CUTOFF DEVICE This invention relates generally toa device for supporting and guiding a continuous cigarette rod through acutoff, and particularly to cigarette makers with a high or very highcutting rate.

In the known cigarette cutoffs, the rod moves in a tubular guideprovided with a transversal slit through which a blade of the cutoff canpass at equal intervals of time. The guide is provided with areciprocating motion which is parallel to the direction of motion of therod. During this motion the guide accomplishes a go travel in theforward direction of motion of the rod during which the cutting of therod is effected through the transversal slit.

The guide has the function of supporting the rod which, because of itscharacteristics, cannot offer suitable resistance to the cutting action.

When moving in a forward direction, the guide accompanies the rod, thatis, both the guide and the rod move at the same speed, In the returntravel there is a relative motion between the rod and the guide.

Naturally, the forces of inertia which relate to this type reciprocatingmotion of the guide do not permit an increase in the frequency ofoperation of the guide beyond a certain maximum value. This effectivelylimits the cutting rate and consequently the productivity of anassociated cigarette making machine.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved cutoffdevice for the cutting of a continuous cigarette rod.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an improvedcutoff device which operates at a high rate of speed.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a devicethat is reliable in operation and economical to build.

These and further objects and advantages of the present invention areachieved, in general, by providing a cradle-shaped support that supportsand guides a continuous cigarette rod that is to be cut. The cradlemoves continuously in one direction along a generally circular closedpath, at a peripheral speed which is substantially equal to the rodspeed. The path of the cradle has a small rectilinear section which isparallel to the path of the rod in the area where the rod is subjectedto the cutting operation where the blade of the cutoff can pass insynchronous relationship with the passage of the cradle and in thetransversal slit of the cradle. Thus, the cradle periodically supportsand guides the rod each time the blade cuts the rod without reversingthe direction of motion of the cradle.

In this invention, the continuous unidirectional motion of the cradlealong the closed circular path is achieved by coupling the cradle tooscillatearound a transversal shaft according to a preestablishedoscillating motion, the shaft being driven to rotate around a shaft, ata speed of rotation predetermined in relation to the speed of thecigarette rod which must be cut in preestablished length sections. Thesupport is guided to move radially towards and away from said shaftaccording to a preestablished arrangement The oscillating motion of thecradle support and the oscillating motion of the cradle around the shaftare correlated between each other and with the rotary motion of thesupport, in such a manner that the cradle support moves parallel to therod path during the time the cradle is transversing the rectilinearsection of its path, the longitudinal axis of the shaft of the cradlebeing parallel to the rod axis and moving in the same direction ofmotionofthe rod.

According to a further preferred feature of the invention, there areprovided multiple cradles oscillating on respective supports which slidein radial guides, angularly interspaced by a rotating element which isrevolvingly assembled on a fixed shaft. Two fixed cams are mounted tosaid shaft. One of the cams causes the supports to slide in sequence ina radial direction while the other cam determines the preestablishedmotion of oscillation of the cradle to establish, successively for eachcradle, the above mentioned functional cooperation with the cigaretterod cutoff.

These and other novel features of the invention and the resultingadvantages are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. Theinvention itself, however, both as to its organization and method ofoperation, as well as additional objects and advantages thereof, willbest be understood from the following detailed description of anembodiment, given as a non-restrictive example, when read with referenceto the attached drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation view, sectionized according to the axialvertical plane, of a-device for supporting and guiding the cigarette rodin accordance with the principles of this inventron;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the device, partly sectionized along the linesII, II of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front view of the device according to the invention,illustrating the operating relationship between the cam which determinesthe preestablished rotary motion of the eradles and the cam whichoperates the radial displacement of the cradle movable supports.

With reference to the drawings, numeral 1 (FIG. 2) indicates thecontinuous rod which is formed in an automatic cigarette maker and whichmust be cut at preset intervals in single sections corresponding to thedesired length of the cigarettes.

This rod slides uniformly at high speed and is guided on a substantiallyhorizontal path through any appropriate guiding means 2 which does notform a part of the present invention and therefore is indicatedschematically in FIG. 2. Additionally, the rod cutoff does not form partof this invention and is indicated generically with numeral 3 in FIG. 1for the purpose of and is showing the location of apparatus according tothe invention when it is mounted in a cigarette maker.

The device for supporting and guiding the cigarette rod when it has tobe cut, comprises a wheel or disk 4 which is rotatably mounted aroundand end part of a fixed shaft 5 fastened, at its other end, to a part 6of fixed structure of the machine.

The disk 4 is integral with a bevel toothed wheel 7 which meshes with apinion 8 keyed to the upper end of a fluted vertical drive shaft 9 whichis rotatably driven, in any suitable manner, for actuating the disk,from a main drive of the machine (not illustrated). The shaft isprovided with flutes which enable, during assembly, a perfect adjustmentto the height of the disk 4.

Disk 4 is provided with a plurality of radial openings or slits 10, forexample, 6 slits, which are equally positioned around the disk, Asupport element or block 11 is slidably mounted in each slit 10. Aroller 12 is rotatably coupled to each support element 11 and followsthe preestablished profile of a cam 13, rigidly mounted to pin shaft 5.A helical spring 14 acting in adjustable compression is mounted inradial slits l0 and presses the respective block radially inward so thatwhen disk 4 rotates, the block moves radially forward and backward inthe associated slit according to the reciprocating motion imposed by theprofile of cam 13. Cam 13 has a substantially circular profile with theexception of a short straight section arranged parallel to the directionof motion of the rod 2, so that, in the area of the straight section,block 11 traces a path parallel to rod 1 which must be cut and in thesame direction of motion and at the same speed of the rod.

A cradle 15 is rotatably mounted to each support element 11 by member116 is fastened to an end of a shaft 16 which is rotatably received insupport 11 and has fastened at its other end a lever arm 17 whichcarries, mounted eccentrically in relation to said shaft, a roller 18engaged in the flute or track 1 19 of a cam 19 mounted on the pin shaft5. The configuration of track 19 issuch that the cradle-shaped elements15 integral with shafts 16 are held parallel to the support 2, while therespective support 11 is guided on the straight profile section of cam13. I

Each cradle 15 traces a traverse motion, during a short rectilinearsection, parallel to the path of rod 1, to support and guide the rod. Ablade of any cutoff, synchronized with the motion of the cradle, cutsthe rod, by passing through the' transversal slit 115 of, the cradle, inthe same manner as in the known devices in which the tubular guide movesreciprocatingly. In other words, with the above arrangement, the cradlesupports and guides the rod during the time required for a cuttingoperation.

In this invention, by using rod supporting and guiding cradles whichtrace a continuous unidirectional motion along a closed circuit, it ispossible to obtain very high cutting rates. Furthermore, the abovementioned axial translation motion of the cradle, to support and guidethe rod or other braid or rodshaped article, along a substantiallyrectilinear path section, can be obtained by compounding, in anysuitable manner, two or more distinct movements of the cradle and/or ofits support without disregarding the substantially unidirectional andgenerally continuous movement of the cradle (s) in operating successionalong a continuous or closed path.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to theembodiment which has been illustrated and described and that manyvariations and modifications are possible in the light of the aboveteachings. It is, therefore, to be understood that the invention may bepracticed otherwise than specifically described herein.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for supporting a continuous cigarette rod being driven in astraight path while a blade is driven therethrough to cut a cigaretteelement therefrom, which comprises:

a disk-shaped support means mounted adjacent the path of said cigaretterod, a plurality of support members mounted for axial movement in saiddisk, means for rotating said disk to drive each of said supports pastthe cigarette rod, a shaft mounted for oscillatory movement in each ofsaid support members,

a cradle-like cigarette support mounted on each of said,

shafts in spaced relationship with the cigarette rod, means for drivingeach of said support members parallel to the straight path of thecigarette rod as it is driven therepast, means separate from the lastnamed means for driving each of the respective shafts in a straightpath, whereby the cradle-like cigarette support mounted thereto isdriven in a straight path, engaging and supporting the cigarette rod. 2.Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the means for driving each ofsaid support means parallel to the cigarette rod includes,

means biasing each of support means toward the center of the disk, afirst roller mounted toeach of said supports, and a first cam trackmounted parallel to said disk for engaging said rollers, said cam havinga portion parallel to said cigarette rod. 3. Apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein the means for engaging each of said shafts includes:

a lever mounted to each of said shafts, a roller mounted at the end ofeach lever, and a second cam track mounted parallel to said disk forengaging the rollers at the end of the levers, said second cam trackhaving a portion parallel to said cigarette rod.

1. Apparatus for supporting a continuous cigarette rod being driven in astraight path while a blade is driven therethrough to cut a cigaretteelement therefrom, which comprises: a disk-shaped support means mountedadjacent the path of said cigarette rod, a plurality of support membersmounted for axial movement in said disk, means for rotating said disk todrive each of said supports past the cigarette rod, a shaft mounted foroscillatory movement in each of said support members, a cradle-likecigarette support mounted on each of said shafts in spaced relationshipwith the cigarette rod, means for driving each of said support membersparallel to the straight path of the cigarette rod as it is driventherepast, means separate from the last named means for driving each ofthe respective shafts in a straight path, whereby the cradle-likecigarette support mounted thereto is driven in a straight path, engagingand supporting the cigarette rod.
 2. Apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the means for driving each of said support means parallel to thecigarette rod includes, means biasing each of support means toward thecenter of the disk, a first roller mounted to each of said supports, anda first cam track mounted parallel to said disk for engaging saidrollers, said cam having a portion parallel to said cigarette rod. 3.Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the means for engaging each ofsaid shafts includes: a lever mounted to each of said shafts, a rollermounted at the end of each lever, and a second cam track mountedparallel to said dIsk for engaging the rollers at the end of the levers,said second cam track having a portion parallel to said cigarette rod.